Babies' eye damage and Zika? Brazil study suggests a link

CHICAGO - A small study in Brazil says the Zika virus might cause eye damage in small-headed infants born to women infected during pregnancy.

The study lacks hard proof of any link with Zika and vision abnormalities. But as a precaution, the authors recommend routine vision testing in infants born with microcephaly in areas where Zika infections have occurred. Microcephaly has many causes and scientists are trying to determining if Zika is among them. It involves an abnormally small head and often brain defects; its complications can include eye problems.

It has made headlines because of an apparent spike in cases in Brazil where Zika infections and mosquitoes that spread them are rampant.

The study results were published online Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology.